The Blue Flame: The Amulet of Rayquaza
by SSJ4
Summary: A mysterious trainer has emerged wearing a strange amulet that powers up his attacks, but it possesses incredible shadow energy. Chapter 6: Seth, Steven, and Drake learn the origins of the amulet, as well as a terrible truth about its power.
1. Prologue

The Blue Flame: The Amulet of Rayquaza

Author's note: Hey everyone out in Fanfic Land! This is SSJ4 Aragorn. My first ever fanfic is here! I hope you like it! Also, to the people who are reading Vyser's fic, Seth Hiroshima is my character. Just ask him. Or, read some of the early reviews. Anyway, go ahead and flame me, I don't care. Just means more reviews for me. Oh, and one more thing; if you want to know about Seth's journey to become Champion, just play Pokémon Emerald. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any characters or Pokémon in it. Except my characters. And my storyline.

**Prologue**

"Go, Blaze!"

"Metagross, finish him off!"

They both only had one Pokémon left. Their most powerful Pokémon, Blaze the Blaziken, and Metagross. It was down to the wire.

"Blaze, Sky Uppercut!" Shouted Seth, the challenger. Blaze charged, his fist clenched.

"I don't think so! Metagross, Psychic!" yelled Steven, the current Hoenn Champion.

The attack hit! Blaze recoiled hard, hitting the arena floor, which was cracked and filled with craters, courtesy of their battle.

"Blaze, c'mon, you can do this!" Seth yelled, hoping Blaze had enough strength left. Miraculously, Blaze got up, and got into a fighting stance.

"Yes!" said Seth. "We're not finished yet! Blaze, Earthquake!"

Blaze struck the ground with his fist, causing a tremendous earthquake! Metagross fell, but managed to get up.

"Impressive, Seth," said Steven. "You're a lot better than I thought. And that's saying something." He grinned. "But we can do the same thing. Metagross, Earthquake!"

Metagross jumped up.

"No! Blaze, jump!"

Blaze did as told, and not a moment too soon. Metagross hit the ground, causing a mighty earthquake that knocked Seth off balance.

Steven grinned again. "I thought you'd do that. Meteor Mash!"

Metagross jumped high up, above Blaze!

"No! Blaze, dodge it no-"

Too late. Metagross slammed into Blaze, and smashed it into the ground, rocks flying everywhere! Seth shielded his eyes. When the rocks stopped, he dared to look at the arena.

Blaze lie there in a heap, with Metagross standing over him.

"Blaze, no!" Seth fell to his knees. "No…" Not only had he lost, but Blaze, his best friend and strongest Pokémon, was injured badly; it would be a miracle if he was even still alive.

Steven looked at the Blaziken in shock. He had meant to knock it out, but not hurt it this badly...

Seth looked to the ground, overwhelmed. Blaze, dead...he could almost hear him now...wait...he looked up. Blaze was still moving! He struggled to his feet, and looked at Seth.

"Blaze..." Seth said, hardly daring to believe it. "You're alive!" He jumped into the air, shooting his fist up. Then, "No more. Blaze is too hurt. I give-"

But Seth looked at Blaze. There was a fire in his eyes, almost saying, _Don't give up. We can do this._

Seth was astonished. Blaze wasn't willing to stop. He'd fight to the end if he had to. Seth looked to the ground, considering it. Then he looked up, and nodded. The fight was still on.

He pulled out a Hyper Potion, and sprayed it on Blaze, healing his wounds instantly.

"Alright, let's start over," said Steven, pulling out a Hyper Potion as well.

Seth and Steven stared at each other for a moment, each knowing that the other was about to put everything into the next attack.

"Now, Metagross, Hyper Beam!"

Metagross shot a large beam of pure energy at Blaze. Seth and Blaze watched it, full of determination.

"Overheat, Blaze!"

Blaze shot a large and powerful beam of flame at the attack! The two attacks collided, and struggled against each other.

"C'mon, Blaze," yelled Seth. "Don't let him beat you!"

And yet, the Hyper Beam had begun to win. It was getting closer and closer...

"Blaze, do it now!"

Blaze suddenly unleashed even more power into his attack, overwhelming Metagross, overtaking the Hyper Beam, and connecting with his foe! A large explosion happened, and Seth and Steven were forced to shield themselves from it. They looked through the dust. When it cleared...

"Uh...uh...," The refferee of the fight was completely stunned at the battle he had witnessed. He gathered himself, and said, "Metagross is unable to battle. Blaziken wins! The winner, and new Hoenn League Champion, Seth Hiroshima!"

The crowd cheered, really, really loudly. They jumped, yelled, and screamed themselves hoarse.

Seth was stunned. He had won. He was the new Champ. Then, he grinned and shot his fist in the air.

"Yes! We did it, Blaze! We did it!"

Blaze grinned, and collapsed.

"Blaze?" Seth said, concerned. "Ah, he must be exhausted..."

Steven walked over to Seth, and stuck his hand out. Seth took it, and they shook hands.

"Congratulations, Seth," said Steven. "You're even better than I thought. You're the new Champion. Good job."

"Thanks, Steven," said Seth, still grinning.

"Aaaaand there you have it, folks!" said Gabby, the reporter covering the battle. "What a match! I remember when Ty, my cameraman, and I battled him! He was great! And now, he's Champion! And even though Steven lost, he's still being a good sport. And, look at this!"

Seth's best friend, May, had left the stands and had practically tackled Seth, almost knocking him to the ground. She had wrapped him in a hug.

"I knew you could do it, Seth!" she said happily.

Gabby, of course, took advantage of this. "It seems that Seth is taken! Sorry, girls!"

"...Wait, what!" Seth shouted, suddenly realizing what the reporter had said. "We're just friends!"

Gabby simply laughed. "So, how does it feel to be the new Champion?"

And so, a new Champion rose. This may be the end of the journey for most Champions, but for Seth, it was just the beginning…

Author's Note: There you go! The prologue, showing the final battle between Seth and Steven, showing how Seth became Champ. But, this isn't the end! Tell me if I should continue this story! Good night, everyone in fanfic land!


	2. The Challenger

Author's Note: New chapter! I'm glad this story got a good response. I'd like to thank all my reviewers (all three of them) for actually reading my story.

Darkmichael: I'm glad you like the detail.

JackOfBlades: You like my character? Cool. Glad to see he's so cool.

Treekicker: I had a feeling you might read this. And, if Seth ever meets you, it'll be in a later story.

Also, as a footnote, this takes place when Seth is around thirteen, four years before Pokémon Diamond. Anyway, enjoy this new chapter!

Disclaimer: If you think I own anything, congratulations. You need help.

The Challenger 

It had only been a few months since his battle with Steven. He had several interviews right after the fight; he never wanted to see another microphone again. And already he had gotten loads of challenges from Champion hopefuls, a lot of fan mail, and a scarily obsessive female fan club, most of which asked if they could be his girlfriend.

People around had begun calling him The Blue Flame, Blue because he normally wore blue, and flame because of Blaze.

For the first week or two, he had to run away from rabid mobs trying to get pieces of his hair or clothing. Thankfully, that stopped. It was tough being famous.

You may think that now he was champion, he didn't see a reason to train anymore.

And you'd be right.

"Seth, wake up!"

Seth was up in his room, sleeping till 10:30 or 11:00 as usual.

"Seth!" his mom called.

"Huh?" Seth woke up abruptly. He shook his head around a bit, trying to actually feel like he was awake. Then, he plopped back into bed. He was tired. He had tried going to the store yesterday, when about a hundred (or so it felt like) trainers challenged him.

He heard footsteps coming upstairs. His mom, Anna. She walked into the room.

"Seth, if you're gonna be this tired all the time, get to bed earlier!" his mom told him.

"I would've, if I those trainers would've let me leave the store before midnight," Seth said. His mom sighed.

"Your father's here," she said.

"Really?" Seth said, suddenly waking up. His father ran the gym in Petalburg City, so he wasn't home very often.

"Yes, and he wants to talk to you."

Seth got up. His mom left, and he got dressed. He wore his usual black t-shirt, blue short sleeve jacket, as well as blue gloves, blue pants, and boots. He ran downstairs to meet his dad.

"Hello, Seth," said Norman as soon as Seth got downstairs.

"Hey, Dad," said Seth, sitting down next to his dad. "How's things at the gym?"

"Pretty busy," said Norman, grabbing a bagel Anna had made. "The trainers are getting better."

"Probably want to challenge me," said Seth.

"About that, son," said Norman, "I wanted to talk to you. I hear you haven't been training lately?" Seth sighed.

"Yeah," said Seth, "But what's the point? I'm the best."

"And if you don't work hard to stay the best, you won't be Champ very long."

"But," Seth said, "Trainers have been challenging me left and right! Wouldn't that count as training?"

"Maybe, but you need to train more," said Norman. "Someday, you'll meet a trainer so powerful, even you won't be able to defeat him."

Seth thought about this for a moment. _Dad's right,_ he thought. _That's how he's stayed a Gym Leader for so long. I guess I should start training again._ "Okay," he said, looking his dad in the eyes. "I'll train. And someday, we can have that rematch you wanted." Norman smiled.

"Seth, I'm proud of you."

"We're both proud of you," said Anna.

"I'll train, too," said Norman. "So that we can have a great battle someday!"

----------------------/------------------------------------/---------------------------------

"Manectric, Thunder!"

The lion-like pokémon roared, and thunderclouds began to form over the target, a large boulder. Lightning struck the rock! In its wake, the rock had been split in half.

"Yeah!" said Seth, pleased with the results. "We're getting better and better!"

"Swampert, Surf!" said May, who was with him at the time. She had agreed to go with him and train.

Swampert roared, and a tidal wave formed, pushing the boulder forward hard. "Good job, Swampert!" said May.

"Gardevoir," said Wally, another friend of Seth's, and a powerful trainer, "Psychic!"

Gardevoir's eyes glowed, and a purple aura appeared around another boulder. It lifted off the ground. Gardevoir narrowed its eyes, causing the boulder to explode. Wally grinned.

"Looks like we're getting better, too," he said.

"Yeah," said Seth, impressed with his friend's progress. "Whaddya say we-"

"Hold it!"

A young boy, about ten, came out of the bushes. He pointed at Seth.

"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" he said. Seth grinned.

"Alright. What's your name, kid?"

"Don't call me kid! And my name's Drake."

"Alright, Drake. How about a three-on-three match?"

"Sounds good!" he said. He grabbed a Pokéball and grinned.

"I'll referee the match," said Wally. "Begin!"

"Go, Sandshrew!" said Drake, tossing a Pokéball that revealed a Sandshrew.

"Go, Dusclops!" said Seth. The ghost pokémon appeared.

"Sandshrew, use Slash!" Said Drake. The shrew pokémon charged forward, and slashed! But the attack went right through Dusclops! "What the-?"

"Normal attacks don't affect ghosts, kid," said Seth. Drake slapped his forehead.

"Darn! I knew that! Why'd I do that?"

"Dusclops, Shadow Punch!"

Dusclops' fist was surrounded by a strange ghostly energy, and it punched! Sandshrew was hit back and knocked out.

"Sandshrew is unable to battle," said Wally, lifting up one arm. "Dusclops wins!"

"Aw man!" said Drake, stomping his foot on the ground.

"Relax!" said Seth. "That's the only way you can win." Seth only said that to try to get him to relax. He didn't actually think Drake could win.

"Alright, new plan!" said Drake, pulling out another Pokéball. "Go, Mawile!"

A small pokémon with huge jaws appeared out of the pokéball.

"Crunch!"

Mawile attacked the Dusclops. Seth was mildly surprised that Drake had a pokémon that knew crunch, but he didn't let it faze him.

"Dodge it, Dusclops," said Seth.

Dusclops floated up, dodging the bite. Drake suddenly grinned.

"Faint Attack, Mawile!"

Mawile suddenly vanished, and appeared in front of Dusclops, hitting it hard!

"What the-?" said Seth, surprised. That attack had caught him completely off guard. Drake grinned again.

"Surprised?" said Drake. "I've trained really hard for this match! Faint Attack again!"

Mawile attacked again.

"Again!"

Dusclops took another hit.

"If Mawile keeps this up," said May, "It'll win soon!" But Seth had an idea.

"Dusclops, Confuse Ray!"

Dusclops' eye glowed, and a bright ray shot from it, and hit Mawile! Mawile stumbled, and hit itself!

"No, Mawile, re-!"

"Mean Look, Dusclops!"

Dusclops shot a different kind of ray from its eye. Mawile wouldn't be going anywhere.

"Now, Shadow Punch!"

Dusclops punched Mawile, knocking it out.

"Mawile is unable to battle!" Wally said, lifting his arm up again. "Dusclops wins!"

"Darn!" said Drake. "Oh well, I'll beat your whole team with this pokémon! Go, Charmeleon!"

A dark red, lizard-like pokémon with a flame on its tail appeared. "Char…" it said.

"Return, Dusclops. Good job," said Seth, calling back his tired pokémon. He pulled out a great ball. "Go, Manectric!"

The yellow, lion-like pokémon appeared, and roared into the sky. "Crunch, Manectric!"

Manectric charged forward, attempting to bite his foe.

"Charmeleon, Flamethrower!"

Charmeleon reared its head, and shot flames from its mouth, aiming right at Manectric!

"Dodge, Manectric!" But the flames already hit. His Charmeleon had a fast flamethrower attack. Manectric was on the ground, but got up. It was weakened considerably.

"It's burned!" said May, worried for Manectric.

"Darn…" said Seth. He pulled out a Full Heal and used it on his pokémon, healing the burn.

"Hey, no fair!" said Drake, pointing is finger accusingly at Seth. "You can't do that!" Wally spoke up.

"Actually, it's perfectly legal," said Wally. "It was legal at the Pokémon league, and it's legal here."

"Aww…" said Drake. He tried to find another way to accuse Seth of cheating. When he couldn't, he shrugged and said, "Dragon Rage!"

Charmeleon shot a different kind of flame from its mouth. A bright orange flame with lightning around it. Dragon's flame. The attack hit, weakening Manectric more.

_He's better than I thought,_ thought Seth. _He's got potential._

"One more flamethrower!"

"Manectric, time to test your power. Rain Dance!"

Manectric roared into the sky, and rain began to fall, considerably weakening the flamethrower attack. "Dodge, Manectric, and use Thunder!"

"What?" said Drake, worried now. Manectric jumped to the side, roared, and thunderclouds formed over Charmeleon. "Dodge it!"

"Look's like Seth won!" said May, no longer worried. "You can't dodge a Thunderdance combo!"

The powerful attack hit! "No!" yelled Drake, as his pokémon fell to the ground, and was knocked out.

"Charmeleon is unable to battle!" said Wally, lifting his arm once more. "Manectric wins! The winner, Seth!"

The rain stopped, and the sun appeared again. "Return, Manectric. Good job." He called his pokémon back. Then, he looked at Drake.

Drake was looking at the ground, clearly disappointed that he couldn't even beat one of Seth's pokémon. Seth walked up to him.

"Hey," said Seth. "You were more of a challenge than I expected. You did pretty good. You just need to train more." Drake suddenly looked up.

"Can you train me?" he said, hopeful.

"Huh? Uh…" This was a surprise. Seth had gotten loads of challenges, but this was a first.

"I am your humble apprentice!" said Drake, bowing.

"Well…sure," said Seth. He knew Drake's potential. He would hate to see it wasted. Besides, it could be a new way to train himself.

"Yes!" said Drake. "When do we start?"

"Well first," said Seth, "We gotta go to my home and rest. And eat! I'm starving!"

Author's Note: The new chapter is done! Hope you all liked it! You can all bet Drake will play a big part in the story (no, he's not the badguy. You'll know who the badguy is). Anyway, R&R! Goodnight, people in fanfic land!


	3. The Mysterious Trainer

The Mysterious Trainer

In the past week, Seth and Drake had gone out training every day, for hours on end. Drake was progressing quite a bit; Seth was very impressed.

"Charmeleon, Mega Kick!"

Charmeleon charged toward the boulder and leapt into the air. Its foot glowed, and it kicked the boulder, splitting it in two!

"Yeah!" said Drake, shooting his fist into the air. "I think we're even better than you now, Seth!"

"Wanna bet?" said Seth. "Blaze, kick that boulder over there as hard as you can."

Blaze nodded, stared at the boulder, and ran towards it, jumping and kicking it once. There was a pause, and the boulder crumbled into pieces.

"Aw man!" said Drake. He still couldn't beat Seth.

"You're getting better, though," Seth told him. "You'll be able to do that soon. Now, let's go home. I'm getting hungry." They walked home to get something to eat.

----------------/--------------/-----------------/---------------

"Hey," said Drake, looking around. "What's going on?"

When they arrived at Littleroot, there was a large crowd gathered around something.

"Some new trainer showed up," someone in the crowd told them. "He's dominating!"

"Really?" said Seth, interested. He wanted to see this trainer. He and Drake squeezed through the crowd, finally, getting to the front.

There were two trainers, but the one the person told them about was obvious. He had long, black hair, and was wearing a black shirt and pants, with a gray jacket that went down to his knees. He had black gloves, and a necklace with a crystal on it. He was winning by a landslide.

"Rock Throw!"

The Golem threw large boulders at its opponent, a Raticate. Seth thought he saw something strange coming from the necklace the trainer wore, but thought nothing of it after that. The Raticate fainted.

"No! Raticate!"

The other trainer called his Raticate back, and walked off with his head hung.

"Next!" said the trainer with the necklace. Another trainer challenged him, sending out a Golbat. "Return," said the first trainer, calling back his Golem. "Go, Machoke!" The muscular gray pokémon appeared. Seth was surprised at this choice. Golbat had an advantage because of its flying type. Why would he counter with a Fighter?

"Heh, we'll win easily!" said the Golbat trainer. "Wing Attack!"

The Golbat's wings began to glow, and it attacked!

"Dodge it, Machoke, and use Seismic Toss!"

Machoke jumped to the side, and grabbed Golbat. It jumped into the air, and threw Golbat hard into the ground!

No mistaking it; There was definitely something about that necklace. It glowed right as Machoke threw Golbat. And then it stopped. The dust settled, and Golbat was knocked out.

"Aw…" said the Golbat trainer, calling his pokémon back and leaving.

"Who's next?" said the first trainer, holding his arms out to the sides, inviting anyone to challenge him.

"I am."

Seth walked forward, and stood across from his opponent. He wanted to find out more about this trainer.

"Ah, Seth Hiroshima," said the other trainer, grinning. "I've been wanting to have a match with you."

"Everyone has," said Seth. "Well, you know my name. What's yours?"

"I'm Kyle Yamamoto," he said. "Anything else before we start?"

"Yeah, why does your necklace glow when you attack?" Kyle grinned even wider.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh really?" said Seth. "Everyone," he looked around at the surrounding crowd, "Watch his necklace while we fight. You'll see what I mean."

"Alright then," said Kyle, pulling out a pokéball. "How about one-on-one?"

"No problem," Seth replied, pulling out a pokéball as well. "Go, Zangoose!"

He threw the pokéball, revealing a white pokémon with a red stripe on it. It stood on its hind legs.

"Cloyster, go!" Kyle threw the pokéball, which revealed a pokémon with a large, blue, spiky shell. "Use Surf!"

_Pulling out the big guns in the beginning, eh?_ Thought Seth. "Dodge it, Zangoose!"

Zangoose was a decent swimmer, so it was able to dodge the roughest currents from the attack.

Then, Seth saw it. The necklace was glowing again. He grinned; now, everyone could see it.

Zangoose couldn't avoid the entire attack. It fell on the ground, but got up.

"It'll take more than that to stop us!" said Seth, pleased with his pokémon. "Crush Claw!"

Zangoose's claws glowed with energy, and it jumped at Cloyster, attempting to crush it in between its claws.

"Withdraw." Cloyster closed its shell, effectively blocking the attack. "Now," the necklace glowed again. "Spike Cannon!" The spikes on its shell, glowed, and shot out, hitting Zangoose! Zangoose fell to the ground again, but again got up.

"We have the perfect weapon for that," said Seth. "Brick Break!"

Zangoose charged, it's claws and feet at the ready. It jumped, and did a combo on Cloyster; even its shell couldn't block the attack. Cloyster flinched, but gathered itself up.

"Alright," Seth said, "Time for our secret weapon! Thunderbolt!"

Zangoose raised its arms, and was surrounded by electrical energy. It pointed its claws at Cloyster, and shot the bolt, hitting it directly! Cloyster fell to the ground…was it beaten?

_No, it's still conscious,_ thought Seth as he saw the Cloyster get up.

"Not bad, champ," said Kyle, unfazed. "But we still have another attack. Cloyster!" The necklace glowed. "Blizzard!"

Cloyster opened its shell. "Cloy-," it said, "-STER!" It yelled, and a blizzard began to form. Seth shielded himself, and so did Zangoose. When the attack stopped, Zangoose was shivering from the intense blast of cold he had just been hit with. It could hardly move.

"Just give up," said Kyle. "You can't win."

Seth pulled out an Aspear Berry. "Zangoose, catch." He threw it to Zangoose, who ate it, and warmed up instantly. "Zangoose, do another Thunderbolt!"

Zangoose charged up the electricity again, aimed, and fired!

The necklace glowed brightly. "Blizzard, Cloyster!"

Cloyster cried out again, causing another blizzard to form! The attacks hit the other pokémon, and they stared, waiting for the other to relent. For what seemed like hours, they stared, still going on with their attacks. Finally, wearing themselves out from the combination of keeping the attacks up and taking the other's attack, they both fainted. A tie.

"Cloyster, return," said Kyle, calling back his pokémon.

"Good job, Zangoose," said Seth. "Return."

"Well," said Kyle, "That was a good match."

"Yeah," said Seth. "So, did anyone else see his necklace?"

Everyone in the crowd murmured, but no one answered. Seth took that as a no.

"What?" said Seth, astonished. How could they have missed it?

"You see?" Kyle said. "You're obviously seeing things. Maybe you need to see a doctor?" He then walked off. The crowd dispersed, but Drake waited.

"I tried to see it," said Drake. "But, I didn't see anything weird."

"Yeah…" said Seth. How could he be the only one who saw it?

-------------/-----------------/---------------/-----------

Kyle kept his cool, confident grin on his face as he left Littleroot. Once he was out of the small town, however, his grin faded.

_Him seeing my amulet glow is _not_ a good thing. But still,_ He looked at his amulet. _How could this thing have that much power? Enough to match, maybe even beat the champion?_

He looked at the amulet closely, and at the engraved picture on it.

A picture of the powerful dragon pokémon, Rayquaza.

-------------/-----------------/----------------/-------------

Author Note: OH NOES! THE AMULET! Anyway, this chapter is now done. I really don't have much to say. So…any questions you have about my story will be fine. Just ask them in the review. So, good night, everyone in fanfic land!


	4. Kyle's Special Training

Author's Note: Weird. My story got added to a C2 community without me even knowing about it…Well, hopefully it just means more reviews! Anyway, sorry if you guys got impatient with me, but here is my new chapter!

----------/-----------------/-----------------/---------

Chapter 3: Team Shadow

"Now Cloyster, Blizzard!"

Kyle summoned the power of his amulet. He felt the power. Cloyster launched the Blizzard, freezing the entire mountaintop. _Yeah, that's more like it…,_ he thought. But…it wasn't enough.

It had been about a week since his battle with Seth. If he wanted to beat him, he had to get even stronger. No doubt Hiroshima was training, too. Kyle had power, and he had gotten stronger since his battle, but he still felt like it wasn't enough. He wanted more.

_But where can I find better training?_ he thought. _Hiroshima is the strongest trainer around._

He left the mountain, leaving it frozen.

----------/-----------------/-----------------/---------

_What was that?_

It was nighttime, and Kyle had been asleep in the forest. He had heard something. He looked around, trying to find the source of the noise.

"Alright, show yourself," he said to whoever was around. No answer. "Fine. If you want to be that way…" He reached for his backpack, and pulled out a Pokéball. "Flareon, burn down the surrounding area!"

The red, fluffy Pokémon came out of its Pokéball. "Flare!" it said as it began to shoot Flamethrowers around. The trees quickly caught fire and burned down.

"Cloyster, put the flames out!" said Kyle, sending out another Pokéball. Cloyster came out of it, and used Surf to put the flame out. Kyle examined the area. No sign of anyone. Not even a body. Whoever, or whatever, was here had already left.

Then he saw it. A footprint. There were other trainers around. Kyle grabbed his jacket, put it on, called back his Pokémon, and followed them. He was gonna teach those people a lesson for waking him up.

For about ten minutes he followed the footprints. He had just decided to forget about it, when he heard voices.

"So, what's your report?"

"One trainer in the area, but he's asleep."

_I wonder if he means me._ He looked to see who was talking.

People in uniforms. Two of them. It was hard to tell in the dark, but it looked like their uniforms were dark purple. They wore visors over their eyes. They were standing right outside a cave.

"Just one?" said the one who seemed to be in charge. "Well, we can't have that. Find him again and eliminate him."

"I'm afraid you won't be doing that."

Kyle stepped out of the bushes.

"Sir! That's the trainer I was talking about!"

"Well don't just stand there, get rid of him!"

"Yes sir! Go, Makuhita!"

A small, chubby pokémon appeared from the pokéball.

"Okay then," said Kyle, "Go, Flareon!"

Flareon came out, and cried, "Flare!"

Kyle summoned his amulet's power. "Use flamethrower!" he commanded. Flareon shot a large amount of flames at the Makuhita, who took the hit, but didn't seem to take much damage!

_Darn, I just remembered,_ thought Kyle, _That Makuhita must have the Thick Fat ability._ He scowled for forgetting that detail.

"Makuhita, Shadow Rush!"

_Shadow Rush?_

Makuhita suddenly barreled forward, slamming into Flareon hard! But, from what Kyle could tell, Makuhita took damage as well. _Well,_ thought Kyle, _I don't know what that was about, but whatever._ "Flareon, Toxic!"

Flareon suddenly shot poison goo from its mouth, hitting Makuhita and poisoning it badly!

"Ugh, fool!" said the Grunt in charge, "Go, Haunter!"

A grinning ghost with two floating hands appeared. "Haunt, Haunt!" it said.

"Shadow Rush, Haunter!"

Haunter rushed at Flareon

"Dodge it!" Flareon obeyed, and jumped to the left. Kyle hated this unfairness.

"You wanna fight doubles?" he said, pulling out another Pokéball. "Fine. Go, Marowak!"

A brown Pokémon with a skull on its head and a bone in its hand appeared. Kyle once again used his amulet. "Bone club!"

Marowak ran at the Haunter, and hit it with the club! Haunter took a lot of damage, and was knocked out instantly!

"No!" yelled the guard in charge.

"Now," said Kyle, summoning power once again, "Flareon, Body Slam!"

Flareon charged at Makuhita, and slammed it hard! Makuhita went flying into the nearby rock wall, and was knocked out.

"Crap!" said the first guy. "We gotta alert the others!"

"Go ahead. Won't do you any good!" Kyle yelled after them. They had already gone running into the cave. _Others, huh? I think I just found my new training spot._ He walked into the cave.

--------------/---------------/---------------/---------

Inside, there were many guards. Kyle had soundly defeated them one by one as he made his way through the cave. Until finally…

"Yes! It's finally complete!"

"About time. This project you've been working on took forever."

Kyle stopped and ducked under a window. He was right outside a laboratory. He looked in and saw a few scientists, and another person who was wearing a different uniform than the guards. He was wearing a dark purple jacket, and had dark purple spiky hair. He looked out a window in there, and grinned.

"Excellent. So, care to explain to me what it does?" said the person wearing the jacket.

"Well you see," said the scientist, "It is designed for two people. They ride in the chest area, where it is controlled."

_What the heck are they talking about?_ thought Kyle.

"Okay, what kind of features does it have?"

"For one, it has heavy plated armor, nearly indestructible. It has sensors and scanners, and…" The scientist grinned. "A superlaser capable of destroying an entire city in one shot." The leader grinned.

"Good," he said. "No one will dare stand up to Team Shadow now!"

_So _that's_ the name of this group,_ thought Kyle. _Sounds like Team Magma and Team Aqua. Well, they'll go down just as easily._

He suddenly saw a guard run into the lab through another door. He ran up to the leader, stopped, and saluted the leader. He looked out of breath.

"Sir! An intruder has entered the base!" he said. "He's taken out most of the guards!"

"What?" the leader said. "How could someone get past that many guards? Oh well, I'll deal with him myself."

Kyle opened the door and entered the lab.

"You want to fight me?" he said. "Come and get me."

The leader grinned. "You've made a foolish mistake, boy. I'm the strongest person in Team Shadow!"

"Good. Your guards are a bunch of wimps."

"You dare insult Team Shadow?" said the leader, obviously mad. "Then you will pay the price! Go, Houndoom!"

He threw the Pokéball and revealed a demonic black dog. The dog breathed fire into the air.

"Go, Flareon!" Kyle said. Flareon came out and cried "Flare!"

"You're pretty cocky to fight fire with fire," said the leader. "Hit it with your horns, Houndoom!"

Houndoom lowered its head and charged, intending to impale Flareon!

"Dodge it, Flareon!" Flareon did as told, and jumped to the left. As always, Kyle called the amulet's power. "Now Body Slam!"

Flareon charged at Houndoom, and slammed into it hard! But, it regained itself.

"Not bad," said the leader. "Charge at it again!"

_Not this again._ "Dodge again!"

Flareon jumped to the right, dodging the charge.

"Now Crunch!" the leader commanded.

Houndoom suddenly turned, charged, and bit Flareon!

"No! Toxic!"

Flareon shot the goo from its mouth, poisoning the Houndoom. That, combined with the damage from earlier, knocked out Houndoom.

"Return," said the leader, calling back his pokémon. He pulled out another pokémon. "Impressive. Go, Gengar!" A dark purple ghost with an evil grin on its face appeared.

"Oy," said Kyle. "Do you all use the same pokémon? Your guards all had Haunter, Gastly, Makuhita, and Houndour. Return, Flareon." He grabbed another pokéball and threw it. "Go, Marowak!" The ground type appeared out of the pokéball. "Bonemerang!"

The Marowak threw its bone at Gengar, right on target!

"Type advantages won't help you," said the leader. "Dodge it, Gengar."

The Gengar grinned, and vanished! It appeared right behind Marowak!"

"Now, Night Shade!"

Gengar grinned even wider, and put its hands forward toward Marowak. All around the lab dark purple shade appeared! Marowak recoiled hard from the attack! It fell! Was it beaten?

No. It struggled, but it got up. Kyle grinned.

"Heh, it'll take a lot more than that to win," he said. He used the amulet's power once again. "Bone Club!"

Marowak attacked with its bone, hitting Gengar! Gengar looked at Marowak, and grinned.

"Now, Psychic!"

"Bone Club again!"

Marowak attacked with its bone again, but it wasn't fast enough! Gengar got it in a Psychic hold, and threw it into the nearby wall! Marowak got up…and fainted.

"Return, Marowak," said Kyle. This Gengar was powerful. He would have to be more careful against it. "Go, Flareon!"

Flareon came out again, crying, "Flare!"

"Ha!" said the leader, grinning. "You already used that Pokémon! I know its moves!"

"You think so?" said Kyle. That wiped the smirk off of the leader's face. "Flareon, use Bite!"

Flareon ran towards Gengar, baring its teeth!

"Dodge it and use Night Shade!" There was that dark shade again…Flareon stopped and looked around, wondering what was happening. Then…

"Flare!" It felt the pain! The Night Shade hit it, and it fell. But, it got up. Now it was mad.

Kyle summoned the amulet's power. "Use Bite!" Flareon ran again at the Gengar!

"Haven't you learned yet?" the leader said. "That won't work against Gengar! Psychic!"

Gengar grinned evilly, and its eyes glowed purple!

"Move out of its eyesight, Flareon!"

Flareon ran to the side. Too fast! It vanished from Gengar's sight! Kyle was pleased; if Gengar couldn't see Flareon, he couldn't hit it. Flareon stared at Gengar from behind.

"Now Bite it!"

"Dodge it!"

But it was too late. Flareon bit Gengar, and Gengar was knocked out.

"Rrgh, return!" said the leader, obviously very angry.

_That'll just make things easier for me,_ thought Kyle. The leader pulled out his last Pokéball.

"This one will destroy you!" he said. "Go, Hariyama!"

The large, sumo wrestler-like Pokémon appeared.

"Alright, return, Flareon," said Kyle. He pulled out another Pokéball. "Go, Machoke!"

The very muscular Machoke came out, and flexed its massive arms.

"Use Seismic Toss!" Kyle commanded. Machoke grabbed the Hariyama and jumped up. He tossed the Hariyama down into the floor! However, Hariyama emerged with hardly a scratch. "What the?"

"Hehe…" the leader chuckled. "Now, Shadow Rush!"

Hariyama rushed at Machoke!

"Quick, use Dynamicpunch!"

As the Hariyama rushed towards Machoke, Machoke pulled back its fist, and punched the Hariyama as hard as it could! Hariyama went flying! But, it was still going. It was confused, though, which would give Kyle an advantage.

"You think because my Hariyama is confused," the leader said, "means you will win? Not likely!" He pulled out a Persim Berry, which Hariyama ate (with difficulty; it almost attacked the berry) and was confused no more. Hariyama suddenly looked extremely enraged!

"Haha!" yelled the leader triumphantly. "Can you beat Hariyama when it's in Hyper Mode?"

"Hyper Mode?" Kyle said, confused.

"In Hyper Mode," the leader explained, "Shadow Pokémon are twice as powerful! Shadow Rush!"

Hariyama rushed even faster than it did before!

"Dodge—" Too late. Hariyama slammed into Machoke hard! The leader cackled.

"Again!"

It attacked again.

"Again!"

Machoke couldn't take much more…

"You wanna fight like that?" Kyle said, summoning all of his amulet's power. "Fine! Use Revenge, Machoke!"

Machoke was hit again, and suddenly, it punched the Hariyama, sending it flying right out the window the leader had been looking through earlier! Hariyama plummeted, smashed into the ground! When the dust settled…

"No!" the leader said. "How could I lose?" Hariyama had fainted.

"Return," Kyle said, calling back Machoke. "Well, this was fun, but I have to go."

"Not so fast!"

Kyle stopped and looked at the leader. "Look, you lost. I won. Boo-hoo."

"This isn't over!" The leader turned to the scientist. "Activate the superweapon!"

_Superweapon?_ Thought Kyle. He suddenly figured out this might not have been such a good idea.

"Hahahaha!" The leader cackled insanely. "You die here and now!"

----------/------------------/-----------------/----------

Author's Note: MWAHAHAHA! I AM EVIL! I left it at a cliffhanger! You'll have to wait and find out what happens!


	5. Just How Strong I Am

**Just How Strong I Am**

"This isn't over!" The leader turned to the scientist. "Activate the superweapon!"

_Superweapon?_ Thought Kyle. He suddenly figured out this might not have been such a good idea.

"Hahahaha!" The leader cackled insanely. "You die here and now!"

"We'll see about that," Kyle said, angry with himself for falling into this trap. _Well,_ he thought, _I'll just have to fight my way out._ He jumped out into the room where the superweapon was.

The gigantic thing appeared. It was purple colored, with a large platform-like back, and two arms, one with a gigantic superlaser. Its head resembled a skull with a barrier on its neck. _That must be its weak point. The sensor array. I'll have to destroy the barrier somehow._

"Go, Marowak, Cloyster, Flareon, Machoke, Electabuzz, and Salamence!" He sent out his entire team, ready to take this thing down. "Attack that barrier with everything you've got!"

Flareon used its Flamethrower, Machoke used Dynamicpunch, Cloyster used Blizzard, Marowak used Bonemerang, Electabuzz used Thunderbolt, and Salamence used Dragon Claw! And Kyle summoned his amulet's power again, boosting the attack power. But, the attack did nothing!

"Haha!" the leader cackled, "You think that pathetic amount of power can destroy it? Now we will see the results of man versus machine!"

The weapon pointed its laser downward, charged up, and fired the deadly laser!

"Everyone move!" Kyle yelled, jumping out of the way. His pokémon did as told, and got away just in time. Kyle jumped on his Salamence's back.

"Return!" He called back all his pokémon except Salamence. How to do this? That thing was unstoppable…they got close enough that the weapon stopped firing its laser.

Then, Kyle saw it. His key to victory. He saw four generators on the back of the machine. Maybe, if he destroyed those…

"Salamence! Land there!" The Salamence did so, and Kyle jumped off. Then he realized it was a bad move. Smaller lasers on the back of the weapon began to fire at them. They moved just in time. _I'll have to do this quickly,_ he thought.

"Go, Flareon, Electabuzz, Machoke, and Marowak!" He sent out the four pokémon. "Flareon, use Flamethrower on that generator! Electabuzz! Iron Tail on that one! Machoke, Cross Chop on that one! And Marowak, Bone Club on that last one!"

The pokémon did as told and attacked the generators. Kyle used his amulet again. They were gonna need all the power they could get to survive this one.

The attacks hit the generators, and they were destroyed!

"Return!" He called back the four, jumped on Salamence's back, and flew into the air. Kyle looked down at the sensor array, expecting to see no barrier. But…

_Darn, _he thought, _it's still there…there must be more generators._

"Why don't you just make it easy on yourself," the leader taunted, "And let it kill you!"

"Because I can't die yet!" Kyle yelled back. "I still have a goal to accomplish!"

He looked around again. Now, where were those generators?

_There!_ He saw two more right under the skull head. But there were more lasers down there…he had to attack from a distance to keep himself, and his pokémon, out of danger.

"Salamence," he said, calling his amulet's power, "Use Flamethrower on those generators!" Salamence aimed, and fired, hitting one generator, and destroying it! The lasers began to fire, but in the air, they were much easier to avoid.

"Fly around the head of the machine, and attack the other one with another Flamethrower!" Kyle used his amulet, and Salamence flew around the head. It saw the generator, blasted the flames at it, and destroyed it! Kyle looked at the sensor array again, but the barrier was still up…

"Very good!" said the leader. "We may learn something after all!"

"Yeah, you'll learn that it was a mistake to mess with me!" yelled Kyle. The leader simply laughed at the comment.

Now, where were the other generators? He looked around, but had a bit of a hard time with Salamence dodging the lasers…wait a minute. Kyle looked toward the window he came through.

_There, _he thought, _the last four generators. Right on the catwalk under the window._ "Salamence! Fly over there!"

Salamence did as commanded. It turned and flew towards the generator in the right corner of the room.

"Fool!" the leader yelled, cackling again. "Activate the laser!"

_Darn it! I forgot about that!_ He looked back…and saw the machine pointing its laser at them! It fired off the enormous beam!

"Salamence! Use Flamethrower on that beam!" Salamence turned around, and shot its fire at the beam! The two blasted collided, and struggled against each other! Kyle took the opportunity to jump down to the generator.

"Machoke, destroy this thing with a Dynamicpunch!" Kyle used the amulet; Machoke came out, howled its mighty howl, and punched the generator as hard as it could, destroying it!

Kyle looked up at Salamence. The beam had fought its way almost all the way to Salamence…

"Return, Salamence and Machoke!" He called back the pokémon, getting them out of harm's way just in time. He ran to the left, narrowly avoiding the beam himself. Then, an idea hit him.

"Hey! I'm over here, you overgrown lawnmower!" The machine's laser followed him down the catwalk! _Perfect,_ he thought. He continued to run down the catwalk, not looking back. But, he heard the explosions on the way.

"No! Stop!" the leader cried out. So, he had figured it out, too. But it was too late. The laser stopped, and Kyle looked back.

It had worked. The laser had destroyed the remaining generators. Kyle looked at the neck of the machine. No more barrier. He grinned.

"Go, Salamence! Fly towards the sensor array!" He called out the dragon pokémon and jumped on its back.

"No! Reactivate the laser!" the leader commanded. "They must not survive!"

The machine pointed its laser at them again, and fired! Kyle watched the beam. This was it.

"Salamence, dodge that beam!" Salamence flew to the side, under the beam, and began to circle it. In the air, Salamence was more maneuverable than that laser any day. They got in range…

"Go, team!" He sent out all his pokémon at once. "Use your strongest attacks on that sensor array!"

Flareon used Flamethrower, Marowak used Bone Club, Salamence used Flamethrower as well, Machoke used Dynamicpunch, Electabuzz used Thunderbolt, and Cloyster used its Blizzard! Kyle called all the power his amulet had to offer. The Blizzard froze the sensor array, and the other attacks hit it, destroying it! It began to explode!

"Return!" He called back everyone except Salamence, and they flew back towards the window as fast as they could. When they got there, Kyle jumped off Salamence's back, called it into its pokéball, and landed in the room. Kyle saw the shocked look on the leader's face as he stared out at his beloved weapon.

"Now you know just how strong I am," Kyle said. "I'll be leaving now, unless you've got more tricks like that."

The leader simply stared at the machine as it was blowing up. Kyle took that as a no, and he left.

Outside, the sun was rising. Had he really been down there that long? _Well,_ he thought, _that was the best training I've had in a while. But I guess now it's back to freezing mountaintops._

He walked away from the cave and grinned again. Hiroshima wouldn't stand a chance.

--------/--------/--------/---------

Author's Note: Yep, that's right. Kyle's the kind of person who just saved all of Hoenn, and couldn't care less. Anyway, sorry it took so long for the update. I didn't feel very motivated because I lost two out of three reviewers. But, I gained two as well!

Vyser Adept of Dragons: Well, I'm not allowed to e-mail people I don't know. Anyway, Blake _could_ be in the story, but he'd be nine years old, he wouldn't be a trainer, and he'd live in Hoenn. If I used the trainer Blake, there would be slight continuity issues (Seth's only thirteen in this story, whereas he's seventeen in yours). So, if you wouldn't mind me putting Blake as a kid, then yeah.

CerrinwynBradhadairWyver: Holy crap. I didn't expect you to review my story! Well, thanks! And I like the picture you drew.

JackOfBlades: Seth'll be back next chapter. I wanted to do this little sub-story because I think the villain being the underdog is cool.

Anyway, I'll try to get chapters up more often from now on. Oh, and if anyone can guess what I based the superweapon off of, you get a cookie!


	6. An Old Friend

Author's Note: Well, despite only getting two reviews, I'm still gonna keep on going with this story. I have a basic idea of the rest of the story, so it shouldn't be too hard. One thing I forgot to mention. Team Shadow doesn't play any role in this story, except for getting their butts handed to them by Kyle. So, let's get on with it.

Chapter 5: An Old Friend

"Today, many members of a group called 'Team Shadow' were arrested and taken into custody."

It was all over the news. A collapsed cave with some rogues in it. Seth didn't see the big deal about it, since they had already been caught.

"After interviewing several members of this group, we have come to the conclusion that one trainer stopped every single one of them, and destroyed a giant super-mech inside of the cave."

That caught Seth's attention. One trainer? And some super-mech? And why was he worried about it? He had stopped Team Magma and Team Aqua by himself…but still, he had an eerie feeling about it…

"Investigators have not been able to get through the rubble surrounding the mouth of the cave, and therefore have no confirmation of any super-mech at this time. This is Reporter Gabby, Channel 5 news." They switched back to the newsroom.

"Thank you, Gabby," said the newscaster. "We will have more information as this story develops. In other news…"

Seth got to thinking. _What if that one trainer who had beaten them all,_ thought Seth, _what if it was that Kyle guy I met a week ago? He had been unusually strong…maybe even stronger than-_

"Hey Seth, is there any soda in the fridge? I'm thirsty!"

Drake came down the stairs.

"Yeah," Seth told him.

He began thinking again. _He also had that weird amulet…what's it for? What does it do? And why does he have it? And…how come I'm the only one who saw it glowing?_ He suddenly stood up. Drake looked back at him.

"Where're you going?" he asked.

"To see an old friend," Seth answered. "Wanna come?"

"Where does he live?"

"Mossdeep City."

"Boy, do I!" Drake suddenly got excited. "I've never been there before!"

"Then follow me."

He went outside, with Drake following him.

"Go, Altaria!"

Seth sent out his dragon-type, a blue bird with what looked like a cloud surrounding it. He climbed on its back. Drake didn't have a flying-type, so he jumped on, too.

"Altaria, fly to Mossdeep City!"

"Al-tear!" it cried as it flew into the air, and flew off.

----------------

"Look down there, Drake. That's Mossdeep City."

"Wow! It's a lot bigger than Littleroot Town!"

"Al-tear!" Altaria flew down to the city, and landed right in front of the Pokémon center.

"Thanks, Altaria," said Seth. "Rest for a while." He called Altaria back into its pokéball, and set off.

"So, where does he live?" asked Drake, following Seth. Seth looked around for a second, and then pointed.

"Right there," he told him. He began to walk towards the house, and Drake followed. As soon as they got to the door, Seth knocked.

"Steven, are you there?" he asked, hoping for a response.

"Steven?" asked Drake, surprised. "You mean the-"

The door opened.

"Oh, hi Seth," said a voice as the door opened. In the door stood a gray haired young man about six inches taller than Seth, wearing mostly black. "It's been a while." He stepped out of the way to let them in.

"Yeah, it has," said Seth, "Drake, this is Steven. Steven, Drake." He walked through the door. But Drake stood there in awe.

"Wow!" he said excitedly. "You're the former Champion!" Seth heard Steven chuckle a little.

"That's me," he said, somewhat amused at the boy's excitement. "Well, come in."

Drake ran through the door.

"So, Seth," said Steven, closing the door. "How's my old Beldum doing?"

"He's fine," Seth told him. "He gets along really well with my other pokémon."

"Well, that's good. But, for some reason I think you came for a better reason than just small talk."

Seth explained everything he knew about Kyle and his amulet

"Hmmm," he said, thinking. "I think I've heard of this before."

"What?" said Seth and Drake in unison.

"Yeah, I have," said Steven. "I heard a prophecy a few years back, right after I became Champion. An old hermit out at sea up north told me. He'd know more than me about this sort of thing."

There was silence for a minute, and then Seth stood up, holding a pokéball.

"Well, it's settled, then," he said. He looked at Drake. "Drake, it's time I taught you about using a pokémon to Surf."

"Hold it!" Steven said, hold out a hand. "The waters are too dangerous to Surf. Unless you want your pokémon to die."

Seth stopped, and then put away the pokéball.

"No, I don't," he said.

"You need to take a boat," Steven explained. "I have one that's perfect for those waters. Follow me."

He walked out the door, and Seth and Drake followed him. They followed him to the beach, where a boat stood in one spot.

"I haven't used this boat in a while," Steven told them. "I usually Surf."

After getting through the main preparations, Steven took the helm, and they were off.

---------------

"RARGH!"

Kyle watched the large Gyarados roar in pain, and collapse in the sea, causing a large splash which soaked Kyle and his boat. He scowled.

"Stupid Gyarados," he said. He went inside the boat to get a towel and some dry clothes.

After the fall of Team Shadow, Kyle had gone around battling random Pokémon, but it had gotten boring very fast. After he had heard of these dangerous waters, however, he decided to take them on. The Gyarados he had just beaten was much larger that most Gyarados. No wonder everyone was so afraid of these waters. It was rough, had some strong currents, was very rocky, and was covered in mist.

_Now, where was I?_ He thought after he had dried off and changed. _Oh yeah._ He shifted the engine ahead one-third; he didn't want to go too fast because of the large rocks all over. He steered the rudder two rotations to the left, and avoided a large boulder in the middle of the water.

Soon, he had made it through the dangerous water and found himself in a clear, smooth ocean. Looking back, he saw the foreboding atmosphere of the misty area he had just left. Where was he now?

"What's that?" he said out loud. He saw a small island out in the water about 300 yards away. He steered towards it, shifting the engine ahead to full. "Might as well find out."

It took a few minutes to get there, but he made it to the island with no setbacks. He jumped onto the island from the boat and looked around. There was nothing here except an old cottage. _Well, maybe there's someone in there,_ he thought. He went up to the door and pushed it open. Why was it unlocked? He entered…

The cottage may have looked old on the outside, but not so much on the inside. It was reasonably well kept on the inside. There was a table in the middle, and a bed in one corner.

"Who's there?" said a voice. Kyle looked around, and saw an old man with a lined, but hard face. The old man stared at him for a moment. "Who are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Kyle told him. Why was he living so far out at sea?

"You're the one who intruded on an old man trying to live a quiet life," the old man responded. He looked at Kyle's amulet, and his eyes suddenly went wide.

"That's…that's…" he stammered. It looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"What, this thing?" Kyle asked, looking at his amulet. "It's an amulet. So?"

"The Amulet of Rayquaza!" the old man finally managed to say. "How did you find that?"

"I found it in a cave. What's the big deal?"

The old man didn't respond for a while. Then…

"Get rid of it," he ordered. Kyle was somewhat surprised; the old man apparently knew about its power.

"No," Kyle said firmly. "I'm gonna keep it. It's what makes me powerful."

"So, you've used its power, have you?" the old man said. He looked at the amulet with hatred in his eyes. "You don't know what that thing is capable of."

"Look, old man," Kyle said. "All I know is it gives me enough power to be the strongest trainer in Hoenn, and that's good enough for me."

The old man was silent. Suddenly, he lunged, trying to grab the amulet. Kyle dodged swiftly and grabbed the old man's wrist.

"I don't want to hurt you, old man," Kyle said. "But if you try to take my amulet, I'll have to, and no one will ever know about it." The old man stared hard at Kyle.

"If you don't get rid of that amulet, terrible things will happen," he told Kyle. "It will begin to take you over, and when you are pushed to the limit, you will regret it, for its true power will be unleashed."

"True power, huh?" Kyle asked, intrigued. "So, this thing has more power than I thought. Thanks, old man." He turned around and began to walk out the door.

"Wait."

Kyle turned around and looked at the old man.

"One last chance," he told him. "Get rid of it now."

"No," Kyle said firmly, and he left.

The old man stared at the door, and heard a boat start up, and drive off.

_So, it has begun…_ the old man thought.

-------------------

Author's Note: _Muy interesante,_ no? Well, hopefully I still have reviewers…sorry about not updating recently. Well, read and review, and I hope this chapter was _impresionante_ (sorry, learning Spanish.)


	7. The Legend of the Amulet

**Chapter VI: The Legend of the Amulet**

"Whoa, be careful!"

Steven, Seth, and Drake had entered the dangerous waters north of Mossdeep. Steven was right, Seth realized; the currents here were really strong. Even his Sharpedo wouldn't last long out here. They had just gone over a rough wave, and the boat had landed hard in the water, knocking them all off their feet.

"It's even rougher here than I remember," said Steven. "I hope this boat holds together…"

"Hope?" asked Drake. "Did you say you _hope_, instead of you _know_?"

"Yes, I did."

Drake gulped.

Suddenly, the boat shook! It sounded, and felt, like something was pounding against the hull! Seth ran outside, and saw four Sharpedo ramming the hull hard, trying to sink the ship!

"Aw crud," he said. He almost called Steven and Drake, but decided to handle the situation himself.

"Go, Manectric!"

The blue and yellow pokémon came out of its Great Ball and howled.

"Use Thunder on those Sharpedo!"

Manectric howled, and electricity surrounded it. The lightning shot out and down, hitting the four Sharpedo dead-on! They retreated underwater as fast as they could.

"Return," said Seth, calling back Manectric. He walked back into the bridge and faced Steven and Drake.

"This place is really dangerous," he told them. "The pokémon obviously don't like intruders."

They continued deeper into the mist, until they could barely see two feet in front of them.

_"What was that?"_ thought Seth. He had heard something…something that sounded like an engine…

He stepped outside and looked around. There couldn't possibly be someone out here, could there? Unless it was that old hermit…

Then he saw it. He saw a shadow in the distance. It looked like…a boat? But who could it be?

"Hey Steven, did the hermit you told us about own a boat?"

"I think so," Steven replied thoughtfully. "But I think he sunk it a while ago."

_"Then who is that?"_ thought Seth.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

_"That old man was nuts,"_ thought Kyle. _"Who does he think he is, bossing me around like that?"_

Kyle had taken a different route he found as he left the island, one that wasn't nearly as rocky, or misty.

_"And how did he know about its power?"_

He had found it really strange that an old hermit knew about the amulet. What had he called it? The Amulet of Rayquaza? Well, it was a suiting name. The amulet _did_ have an engraving of Rayquaza on it.

Then, a thought came to him.

_"Hmm…maybe…just maybe…he had gone into hiding because he was afraid of the amulet's power! He seemed pretty scared when he saw it…"_

He continued to drive the boat, until he finally came to Lilycove City. There, he jumped onto dry land and abandoned the boat. He had a new mission: find out this amulet's true power, and learn how to harness it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seth watched the boat's shadow go by, until it disappeared into the distance.

"Whatcha lookin' at, Seth?" asked Drake as he walked up next to him. Seth looked out at the mist for a few more seconds, then turned around and looked at Drake.

"Nothing," he said, grinning. "C'mon, let's get back inside."

They both went back to the bridge, where Steven was trying to see through the thick fog.

"Darn it, I can't see…hey Seth, would you mind going up topside to be a lookout?" He handed Seth a walkie-talkie.

"No problem," Seth said, taking the walkie-talkie.

"There's a lifejacket up there you can wear," Steven said. "You may need it."

"Thanks."

Seth walked out the door, went around to the stern, and climbed up the ladder on the back, until he was on top. He saw the lifejacket, grabbed it, and put it on.

"See anything?" said Steven over the walkie-talkie. Seth looked around.

"I can see a little further," Seth said, "But it doesn't seem like there's anything up ahead except for some rocks."

"Try to direct me around them," Steven replied.

"Okay, turn to the left. Port side."

The boat began to turn left, avoiding the rock.

"Okay, you're gonna want to slow down," Seth said. "A lot."

Steven did so. The boat came to a halt.

"How many rocks are up ahead?"

"Too many to maneuver around," Seth told him. "I think you'll have to back up."

The boat began to move backwards. Seth turned around to make sure Steven didn't back up into any rocks.

Drake's voice came over the walkie-talkie.

"Hey, what kind of crazy old guy lives in a place like this?" he said.

Seth silently agreed. Why would anyone live out here? It was impossible to see twenty feet in front of one's nose, and the waters were extremely difficult to navigate due to the currents, the mist, and the rocks. A wave crashed into the boat, causing it to lurch and causing Seth to fall over. He dropped his walkie-talkie and it clattered away.

"Seth, are you alright?" Seth heard Steven's voice over the walkie-talkie. "Seth?"

Seth crawled over to the walkie-talkie and picked it up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied. Another wave hit the boat, pushing it to the left.

"Look out!" Steven yelled. Seth turned around to see what Steven was talking about.

CRASH!

Seth lost his footing and went flying off the top of the boat. He landed, hitting something hard.

"Ugh…" he groaned, picking himself up. He had landed on a large rock that was flat enough for him to stand on. He looked towards Steven's boat and waved at them, signaling them over. The boat began to move closer to him. Drake poked his head out of the door.

"Hey Seth, how'd ya get there?" he asked.

"That huge wave knocked me off of the top of the boat," Seth explained.

"Oh, okay," Drake said. "Steven wanted me to tell ya he can't move too close or else he might hit the rocks again. That last wave knocked it into the rocks."

"Gotcha," Seth replied. He pulled out a Great Ball.

ROAR!

Seth looked to his right and nearly fell backwards. He was facing a giant Gyarados. It was much larger than any normal Gyarados, and normal Gyarados were very big.

"Dang it!" Seth said. "That thing must've caused that wave that knocked us into the rocks!"

"Whoa!" Drake yelled, half-frightened, half-awed. "A Gyarados!"

Seth put away his Great Ball containing Altaria and grabbed a ball containing Manectric.

"Go! Manectric!" Seth yelled, sending out his electric pokémon. Manectric howled when it came out, facing the Gyarados. Gyarados roared and sent out a Dragon Rage attack at Seth and Manectric.

"Dodge and use Thunder!" Seth yelled, jumping out of the way of the blast. Manectric, using its amazing speed, ran out of the way of the Dragon Rage. Thunderclouds began to form over Gyarados. Manectric howled and a powerful lightning bolt came out of the cloud, directly striking the Gyarados.

"Gya!" Gyarados roared in pain. To Seth's shock, however, the monster still stood.

"That Gyarados is powerful," Seth said to himself. "Okay Manectric, wait for its next attack!"

Manectric nodded and stared intently at Gyarados. Gyarados roared and lunged at Manectric, who dodged out of the way.

"Now use another Thunder attack!"

Manectric howled again. Thunderclouds formed again and a lightning bolt came down, but Gyarados quickly moved. The lightning struck the rock the Gyarados had slammed, causing it to explode and sending several rock shards flying everywhere. Seth ducked as a rock flew over his head.

"Thunder!" Seth heard Steven yell. An Aggron appeared next to Seth. It roared, and thunderclouds formed again.

"Manectric, use Thunder with Aggron!" Seth commanded his pokémon. Manectric howled and even more lightning clouds formed. One enormous bolt of lightning came crashing down, hitting the Gyarados full blast. It roared in agony, writhing and flailing dangerously. The attack stopped, and the Gyarados fainted, slamming into the water and causing another wave.

"Return," Seth and Steven said simultaneously, calling back their pokémon. Seth sent out Altaria, flew back to the boat, and called it back.

"Thanks, Steven," Seth said.

"Wow, you guys won!" Drake said in awe. "That was so awesome!"

"No time to celebrate," Steven said. "That wave is about to hit us!"

Seth and Drake looked back, seeing the gigantic wave caused by the Gyarados falling into the water. The three trainers hastened to get inside the boat. The wave slammed into it, pushing it hard…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

_What happened?_

Seth slowly opened his eyes. He stared into the blue, sunny sky above him.

_There's no mist here…_

Seth sat up quickly, and then felt dizzy. Looking around, he realized he was on a small island with an old cottage in the middle. He looked out at sea and saw the misty Northern Hoenn waters in the distance.

_'We landed in the middle of nowhere,'_ he realized. _'We're not in Hoenn anymore.'_

He looked around the small beach, finding Steven and Drake nearby. Steven was already waking up, but Drake was still unconscious.

"Steven, you alright?" Seth asked.

"I'm fine, but I don't think my boat is," Steven replied. "Look at it."

Seth looked at the boat. It had sustained massive amounts of damage from the rocks and the waves.

"I don't think she'll be out in the water again," Steven said.

"Well," Seth said, "At least we can Fly back." He kneeled down to Drake.

"Hey," he said, shaking him. "Wake up."

Drake opened his eyes and sat up.

"Where are we?" he asked, looking around.

"Our destination," Steven said, gesturing towards the cottage. Drake stood up and looked at it.

"This place?" he asked. "Someone lives here?"

"Yes. Well, at least he lived here a few years ago. I don't know about now."

"You mean we might've come all the way here for nothing?" Drake asked, astonished.

"It's our only lead right now, Drake," Seth told him. "Calm down, Steven knows what he's doing."

Steven walked up to the cottage and slowly opened the door. Seth and Drake followed him inside.

"Hello?" Steven asked. "Is anyone here?"

"Steven?" a hard voice replied. The group looked in the direction of the voice to see an old man with a lined, hard face. He looked troubled about something.

"Sir," Steven said, "I came to ask you abo-"

"Who're they?" the man asked, gesturing towards Seth and Drake.

"This is Seth, the current Champion, and Drake, his apprentice."

"Champion?" the old man asked, looking at Seth. "You mean he beat you?"

"Fair and square," Steven replied. The old man walked up to Seth and examined him closely for a few moments.

"They don't expect much from Champions nowadays, apparently," he said. This made Seth angry.

"What are you talking about?" he said, containing his anger. "I beat the Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, Wallace, and Steven. I even fought Team Magma and Team Aqua. What more is there?"

"Let me tell you something, boy," the old man said sternly. "When I was your age, there were trainers at least ten times as powerful as you and Steven."

Seth couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wasn't sure whether he should believe him or be insulted by the man's comments. The old man looked at Steven.

"So, what did you want?"

"I came here to ask you about a strange amulet," Steven said. "I don't know the whole story, though. Seth and Drake will have to fill in some of the blanks."

The group began to tell him about Kyle and the amulet, how it glowed, and how no one but Seth saw it. The old man was intrigued.

"Only a powerful trainer can see the amulet's glow," the old man said.

"So you admit I'm strong," Seth said.

"I'll admit you're strong by today's standards," the man replied, "But if you lived when I was younger, you would be nothing." Seth had to force himself not to yell.

The man continued. "This amulet you speak of is called the Amulet of Rayquaza."

"What's so special about it, though?" Drake asked.

"Years ago, back when I was in my twenties or so, there was an extremely powerful dragon pokémon that ravaged the lands, destroying towns and killing people and pokémon alike."

"You mean Rayquaza?" Seth asked.

The old man shook his head. "No. I mean Shadow Rayquaza."

"_Shadow_ Rayquaza?" Seth asked in astonishment.

"Yes," the old man replied. "It was powerful, more powerful than Rayquaza. People were terrified of it.

"A few trainers banded together, intent on stopping it. I was one of them. We fought it in a battle that shook the land of Hoenn to its very foundations. But the pokémon couldn't be stopped, even with our combined strength.

"Then, a man found a stone in the Sky Pillar. It was a very rare stone with magical properties. He studied it, trying to unlock its secrets. While he studied it, Shadow Rayquaza began to pursue him intently, trying to kill him and destroy the stone. He came to the conclusion that it was afraid of the stone's magic. He used the stone to develop a magical amulet."

"The Amulet of Rayquaza," Seth said.

"Yes," the old man said. "We battled Shadow Rayquaza again using all of our strength. We managed to weaken it enough for the amulet to be used. It trapped Shadow Rayquaza. Unfortunately, if the amulet were to be destroyed, Shadow Rayquaza would be unleashed again. So we hid it deep in Meteor Falls, far from where anyone could find it.

"A theory was developed about it later on. It was believed that if any trainer were to find it and put it on, they would have access to Shadow Rayquaza's power, enhancing their pokémon's power. And if they were pushed to the limit, Shadow Rayquaza would take that trainer over completely. Being locked in the amulet, Shadow Rayquaza is much weaker than it used to be, but still powerful enough to cause major damage. Rather than stay and find out, I left Hoenn and stayed here.

"This boy you tell me of…Kyle was his name, wasn't it? I met him about two hours ago. He is a very arrogant young man. I warned him of the Amulet's power, but he wouldn't listen to me. He seems intent on discovering how much power it contains. However, it's far too much for him to handle."

"You can come help us," Steven said. "If you fought Shadow Rayquaza before, you'll know what to expect against him."

The old man shook his head. "I'm too old to fight him. I'm not as powerful as I used to be. For now, you'll have to fight him. With the help of these two, of course." He gestured towards Seth and Drake again. Drake put up his fist.

"Kyle won't know what hit him when I'm through with him!" he said with a cocky grin on his face.

"I know a trainer who might be able to help us," Seth said. "He's pretty strong, too."

"Good," the old man said. "You'll need all the help you can get to defeat Shadow Rayquaza."

"Well, thanks, sir," Steven said to the old man. "At least now we know what we're up against."

"Good luck," the old man said. "And be careful."

Seth, Steven, and Drake bade farewell to the old man, went outside, and flew back to Hoenn.


End file.
